Method of making wire racks



Feb. 20, 1962 I J. w. BARNSTEAD 3,021,873

METHOD OF MAKING WIRE RACKS Original Filed June 20, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet1 1 M I\\ 1 P w I l 3 ---J 9 a INVENTOR. JOHN w. BARNSTEAD FIG.I

Feb. 20, 1962 J. w. BARNSTEAD 3,021,873

METHOD OF MAKING WIRE RACKS Original Filed Jun 20, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 2PIC-3.2

'6 INVENTOR.

J'OHN w. BARNSTEAD YIIIIIIIIA FIG. 4 BY 12. E AM H IS ATTORNEY Feb. 20,1962 BARNSTEAD 3,021,873

RE RACKS MAKING WI Original Filed June 20, 1

Feb. 20, 1962 J. w. BARNSTEAD 3,0 ,8

METHOD OFMAKING WIRE RACKS Original Filed June 20, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 4F'IG.7

IN VEN TOR.

co 9 ll.

. D- wf HIS ATTORNEY JOHN W. BARNSTEAD Feb. 20, 1962 J. w. BARNSTEADMETHOD OF MAKING WIRE RACKS Original Filed June 20, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet5 INVENTOR.

J'OHN \N. BARNSTEAD ms ATTORNEY United States 6 Claims. (Cl. 140-71)This invention relates to a method of making wire racks, such as theracks employed in dishwashers for supporting articles to be washed. Thepresent application is a division of my application Serial No. 666,869filed June 20, 1957, assigned to the assignee of the present applicationand now abandoned.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a method of makingwire racks whereby such racks may be fabricated in substantially stripform before final assembly operations.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method of makingdishwasher racks whereby substantially all fabricating operations may beperformed by automatic machinery.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent asthe following deserip ion proceeds, and the features of novelty whichcharacterize the invention will be pointed out with particularity in theclaims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

Briefly stated, in accordance with one aspect of this invention there isprovided a method of making dishwasher racks which includes the steps offixedly attaching a plurality of groups of wire elements at spacedlocations along a single continuous substantially straight piece of wirestock, and bending the wire stock at points between the groups of wireelements to form a peripheral support member enclosing the wire elementswithin an area generally defined by the peripheral support.

For a better understanding of this invention reference may be made tothe following description and the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view, with some of the parts broken away, ofa dishwasher in which racks made in accordance with the presentinvention are supported.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a dishwasher rack made in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of the rack shown in FIG. 2, some ofthe parts being broken away to clarify the view.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the same rack, with some partssimilarly broken away.

FIG. 5 is a top elevation view of another rack made in accordance withthe present invention, only a portion of the rack being shown in fulllines, however.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a schematic top plan view of a portion of the rack shown inFIG. 2.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the same rack illustrating one step of themethod of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is similar to FIG. 8 but illustrates another step.

FIG. 10 is similar to FIG. 8 but shows still another step of the method.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of the rack shown in FIG. 5 and illustratinga step in the method of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is similar to FIG. 11 but illustrates a further step of themethod.

FIG. 13 is similar to FIG. 12 but illustrates still another step of themethod.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawing, there is shown a dishwasherdesignated by the numeral 1 having an enatent O 3,021,873 Patented Feb.20, 1962 closed washing compartment 2 of generally rectangularconfiguration in which are mounted an upper rack 3 and a lower rack 4constructed in accordance with the present invention. The dishwasher 1includes a rotary impeller 5 located in the bottom of washingcompartment 2 arranged to circulate washing fluid throughout theenclosed chamber, an impeller motor 6, a control assembly 7, a waterinlet valve 8, and a water inlet tube 9. The structure of dishwasher 1is briefly described herein merely to show the environment and utilityof racks 3 and 4, but inasmuch as the present invention relates to themethod of making such racks, it is considered that further descriptionof the dishwasher structure is unnecessary.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, rack 3 comprises a peripheral supportmember 10 formed from a single piece of wire stock, a plurality ofspaced apart groups of wire elements 11 fixedly attached at their endsto peripheral support member 10, and a plurality of inner supportmembers 12 secured to wire elements 11. Preferably the joints betweenthe various rack elements are made by a suitable welding process. Inthis embodiment of the invention the rack includes three groups of wireelements 11, these groups being identified by the numerals 13, 14, and15 respectively. It will be observed that all of the wire elements 11 ingroup 13 are secured to straight portion 16 of peripheral support 10,that the wire elements 11 of group 14 are secured to straight portion 17of support member 10, and that the wire elements 11 in group 15 aresecured to the straight portion 18 of support member 10. As will bedescribed below, the wire elements 11 in each of these groups aresecured to support member 10 while it is in straight form and it is thenbent at points between groups 13 and 14 and between groups 14 and 15 toform the parts as shown in FIG. 2.

Rack 3 may also be provided with upright supporting pins 19 formed onthe ends of wire elements 11, and also vertical pins 20 fixedly secured,as by welding for example, to certain portions of inner support member12. These elements are intended to support concave objects such asglasses, cups, bowls and the like, and may be formed by bending (pins19) or welding (pins 20) operations either prior to or after assembly ofwire elements 11 on peripheral support member 10. As shown in FIGS. 3and 4, each of the three rack portions generally designated by thenumerals 13, 14 and 15 are inclined slightly with respect to ahorizontal plane, so as to better expose the objects supported thereontothe generally'cone-shaped spray of washing fluid impelled upwardly inthe dishwasher washing compartment by impeller 5.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawing, rack 4 comprises a peripheralsupport member 21 formed from a single piece of wire stock, and aplurality of spaced apart groups of wire elements 22 fixedly attached,by welding for example, at one end thereof to spaced straight portions23, 24, 25, 26 and 27, etc., of peripheral support member 21. Wireelements 22 project toward the central portion of the rack and aregenerally parallel to the other elements in the same group. While onlyhalf of the rack is shown in FIG. 5, it will be understood that thebroken lines indicate that the lower half is identical to the upperhalf, and that the rack is octagonal in shape. Thus in this embodimentof the invention there are eight groups of wire elements 22, includingfour groups having four wire elements therein and four alternatelyspaced groups having five wire elements therein. The inner ends of wireelements 22 of each group are secured together by an inner supportmember welded or otherwise secured to the free ends thereon, innersupport members 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, etc., being formed from a piece ofwire of a length substantially equal to the pcripheral extent of thegroup of wire elements 22 to which they are attached, and arranged ingenerally parallel relation to the nearest portion of peripheral supportmember 21. Thus wire 28 is generally parallel to portion 23 ofperipheral support 21, clement 29 is generally parallel to straightportion 24, element 30 is generally parallel to straight portion 25,element 31 is generally parallel to straight portion 26 and element 32is generally parallel to straight portion 27.

Rack 4 is also provided with four V-shaped wire supporting feet 36, eachbeing attached and projecting outwardly from straight portion 24 ofperipheral support member 21, and the other three alternately spacedstraight portions of support member 21. Supporting feet 36 serve tolocate rack 4 in the dishwasher tub, and also to provide support for theentire rack assembly, it being observed in FIG. 1 that these feet reston a portion of the bottom wall of the washing compartment. It will benoted that the wire elements 22 attached to inner support member 29 andalso those attached to inner support member 31 are spaced somewhatfarther apart than the other wire elements of the rack, being designedto accommodate large plates which project into the corners of thewashing compartment 2. Inasmuch as wire elements 22 in each group arearranged in parallel relationship, the plates supported thereby are alsomaintained in parallel relationship so that the spacing therebetweenremains relatively large, so that maximum exposure to the washing fluidis obtained. In order to strengthen the rack structure, it is desirableto provide a central supporting grid, including radial arms 33 and 34fixedly secured to a supporting ring 35 and projecting outwardly intoengagement with inner support members 28, 29, etc.

Turning now to FIGS. 7-l3 of the drawing, which illustrate the method ofthe present invention as applied to the manufacture of racks 3 and 4illustrated in FIGS. 1-6, the method as applied to the manufacture ofrack 3 will first be described. Initially, a number of rack portions asillustrated in FIG. 7 are fabricated, it being noted that this structureis made up of a group of wire elements 11 and support members 12arranged in a grid like pattern, and that this structure lends itself toautomatic fabrication. Thus, long strips of the structure shown in FIG.7 may be made on automatic w lding equipment and then cut into sectionsof appropriate lengths, such as the groups of wire elements designatedby the numerals 13, 14 and 15 in FIG. 8. These rack portions are thenwelded at spaced locations to a straight length of wire stock, it beingunderstood that only the adjacent free ends of wire elements 11 in eachgrcup are welded to the length of wire stock in this operation. The wirestock projecting beyond the ends of rack portions 13 and 15 are then cutotf and bent to the positicns shown in FIG. 8 so that they can be weldedto the free ends of inner support members 12 thus forming the structureshown in FIG. 8. It will be noted that the pi cc of wire stock to whichthe rack structures aresecured may now be identified as peripheralsupport member 10, and that the rack structures 13, 14 and 15 are spacedalong this member so as to facilitate shaping of the support member 10,as shown in FIG. 9, in which member is bent at a point between rackportions 13 and 14 so as to place the inner support members of thelatter approximately perpendicular to those of the former. Straightportions 16 and 17 of peripheral support member 10 then lie at rightangles to each other, and the shaping of the rack is completed bybending straight portion 18 to the position illustrated in FlG. 10. Thefree ends of inner support members 12 in rack portions 13 and are thenwelded to the innermost inner support member of rack portion 14 and theends of inner support members 12 of rack portion 14 are welded toperipheral support 10 to give the rack the necessary rigidity andstrength. It will, of course, be understood that fingers 19 and 20 (FIG.2) may be formed or added to each rack portion either after the rack hasthe configuration shown in FIG. 10, or alternatively, before each rackportion is welded to the piece of wire stock in the initial stage ofmanufacture.

As shown in FIGS. 11-13, the method of this invention may also beutilized in fabricating lower rack 4. In making this rack, wire elements22 are arranged in groups, in parallel with each other, and are weldedto peripheral support member 21 while it is in straight wire form, innersupport members 2e32 being welded to the free ends of wire elements 22as illustrated in FIG. 11 so as to form spaced rack portions attached tomember 21. Alternatively, inner support members 28--32 may be assembledwith wire elements 22 in groups, as shown, before these rack portionsare welded to support member 21. The complete structure illustrated inFIG. 11 is then subjected to successive bending operations, the straightwire stock forming peripheral support member 21 being bent at pointsbetween each of the straight portions 23, 24, etc. This operation, whichis shown in partial completed form in FIG. 12, may of course beperformed on automatic machinery. After the complete octagonal structurehas been formed, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the two free ends ofperipheral support member 21 may be welded together to form a continuousouter support. Next, the central supporting grid, including wires 33 and34 and ring 35 and also feet 36 may be welded in place to complete themanufacturing operation.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, Ido not desire the invention to be limited to the particular structuresand methods disclosed, and I intend by the appended claims to cover allmodifications within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. The method of making a wi e rack which comprises the steps of fixedlyattaching a plurality of groups of wire elements at spaced locationsalong a single continuous substantially straight piece of wire stock,and bending said piece of wire stock at points between said groups ofwire elements so as to enclose said wire elements within an areagenerally defined by said piece of wire stock and fixedly attaching theresulting structure together to form a rigid rack design.

2. The method cf making a wire rack which comprises {he steps cf fixedlyattaching a plurality of groups of wire elements at spaced locationsalong a single continuous subsfantislly straight piece cf wire stock,fixedly attaching a plurality of inner support members to said wireelements in generally parallel relaticn to the nearest portion of saidwire stock, each of said inner support members being formed from a pieceof wire of a preformed length substantially equal to the portion cf saidwire stock occupied by the group cf wire elements to which it isattached, and

ending said piece of wire stock at points between said grsups of wireelements so as to enclose said wire elements within area generallydefined by said piece of wire stock and fixedly attaching the resultingstructure together to form a rigid rack design.

3. The methd of making a wire rack which comprises the steps of fixedlyattaching a plurality of groups of mutually parallel wire elements atspaced locations along a single continuous substantially straight pieceof wire stock, fixedly attaching a plurality of inner support membars tosaid wire elements in generally parallel relation to the nearest portionof said wire stock, each of said inner Support members being preformedfrom a piece of wire of a length substantially equal to the portion ofsaid wire stock occupied by the group of wire elements to which it isattached, bending said piece of wire stock at points between said groupsof wire elements so as to enclose said wire elements within an areagenerally defined by said piece of wire stock, and fixedly attaching apreformed central supporting grid to a plurality of said inner supportmembers to form a rigid rack design.

4. The method of making a wire rack which comprises the steps of fixedlyattaching at least three rack portions at spaced locations along asingle continuous substantially straight piece of wire stock, each ofsaid rack portions being pre-assembled and including a plurality of wireelements generally parallel to said piece of wire stock, bending saidpiece of wire stock at points between said rack portions so as toenclose said rack portions within an area generally defined by saidpiece of wire stock and to locate the free ends of the Wire elements ofat least two of said rack portions adjacent an intermediate portion ofone of the wire elements of a third rack portion, and fixedly attachingsaid free ends of said wire elements of said two of said rack portionsto said one of the wire elements of said third rack portion.

5. The method of making a wire rack which comprises the steps ofproviding a continuous substantially straight piece of wire stock with aplurality of spaced groups of wire elements on one side thereof, andbending the wire stock at a point at each space between adjacent groupsof wire elements so as to enclose said groups of wire elements within anarea defined by said piece of Wire stock, and fixedly attaching theresulting structure together to form a rigid rack design.

6. The method of making a wire rack which comprises the steps ofproviding a continuous substantially straight piece of wire stock with aplurality of spaced groups of rack portions on one side thereof, eachrack portion having a plurality of intersecting wire elements, andbending said wire stock at a point in each space between adjacent groupsof rack portions, and fixedly attaching the adjacent rack portionstogether to form a rigid rack structure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS181,639 Carver Aug. 29, 1876 813,499 Johnson Feb. 27, 1906 1,443,566Muller et al Mar. 13, 1923 1,985,407 Green Dec. 25, 1934 2,708,476 EamesMay 17, 1955 2,825,481 Glenny Mar. 4, 1958 2,910,207 Andrew Oct. 27,1959

